


Waltz and Other Dances

by velocitygrass



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Dancing, First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-18
Updated: 2012-08-18
Packaged: 2017-11-12 09:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/489577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velocitygrass/pseuds/velocitygrass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John agrees to teach Rodney to dance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waltz and Other Dances

**Author's Note:**

> For McSheplets challenge #130: Dance.

"I swear this is some sort of punishment," Rodney whined. "They _finally_ allow us to return to the Pegasus Galaxy, but we'll have to get through this first. It's like an endless quest where you're almost at the goal, but then you have the fight the fire-spewing dragon first."

"It's a _ball_ ," John pointed out.

"Exactly. As if having to wear formal clothing wasn't bad enough, we'll have to embarrass ourselves by dancing. I swear Sam will ask me just to make me look bad," Rodney said.

John rolled his eyes.

"What?! Don't tell me you're looking forward to it," Rodney said.

"As long as we finally get to take Atlantis back, I honestly don't care what they make us do first," John said dismissively. "And it's just dancing."

"'Just dancing.' We're not talking about the uncoordinated jumping I've seen you do when Ronon took us all to that club," Rodney said, making John glare. "This is something you have to _learn_ and who the hell has time in their life to do that?"

"Anyone whose parents insisted on it," John said. "It's not so hard, McKay. Start with the waltz and work you way up to whatever you have time for. It's not like you're doing much at the moment other than complaining about the SGC and the IOA."

"With good reason! Wait, does this mean you know how to dance?" Rodney asked. "I mean _real_ dancing."

John gave him an annoyed look. "If you want me to teach you, you better think about that game console integration I asked you about."

"It's already done," Rodney said.

"What?! You told me you were too busy," John said.

"I lied. Now come on and show me at least one dance, so that I can ask Sam pre-emptively," Rodney said.

"What about Keller?" John asked.

"What about her?" Rodney asked back.

"You'll probably want to dance with your _girlfriend_ too," John said.

"If she's still my girlfriend, then yes, I'll probably dance with her too," Rodney said.

John opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He'd noticed that Rodney and Keller were out of the honeymoon phase of a relationship, but he hadn't known that things were so bad. Although the fact that she'd gone to visit her father without Rodney might have been a clue.

"We don't have any time to waste if I don't want to make a complete ass of myself," Rodney said. "So chop chop, show me the moves."

~~

"Well, that was easy," Rodney said, looking down at where his feet were forming a rectangle to the 3/4 beat of the music without stepping on John's feet anymore.

"I thought so," John said. "Then lets start to actually move. A simple 90 degree angle. On three. One, two, three." John broke out of the rectangle form and took a step back, pulling Rodney with him, who promptly stumbled and fell into John.

"You moved backwards!" Rodney said.

"I figured you wanted to learn how to lead. If not, _I_ can lead," John said, sounding a bit impatient.

"No, of course I need to lead. It would be pretty pointless to learn it the wrong way," Rodney said.

"It's not the _wrong_ way. It's just not leading," John said.

"Well, when would I ever _not_ lead while dancing a waltz?" Rodney asked.

"If you danced with another guy," John said, switching off the music. "Let's try it slow at first."

Rodney didn't make a move.

John looked at him wearily. "What?" he asked defensively.

"Nothing. So have you ever danced with another guy? You seem to be pretty good at doing it backwards," Rodney said neutrally.

John wasn't sure if he didn't want to seem too inquisitive or if he didn't want to seem interested. "When my father told me I'd have to take someone to the company ball, I asked a guy just to piss him off."

"To piss your father off," Rodney repeated.

"Yes, my father. The guy...he was nice, I just didn't... I wasn't interested in him in that way," John said, waiting if that answered what Rodney really wanted to know.

"Weren't interested because he was a guy or..." Rodney prompted.

"Wasn't interested because he wasn't my type," John said.

Rodney looked at him for a long moment. "I see," he eventually said.

"Right," John said. "So do you want to continue this, or..." He trailed off. He almost wanted to continue with, "Are you afraid of learning to dance from a faggot?" But Rodney hadn't done or said anything insulting—yet—and he didn't deserve to get tarred with the same brush as John's father.

"Of course," Rodney said. "So, turning a 90 degree angle?"

~~

Several hours for several days in close proximity to Rodney, clasping his hands, bumping together when Rodney didn't get it right, were a bad, bad idea.

John simply should have walked away. Playing GTA IV on a big Ancient screen wasn't worth it.

~~

John took another sip from the punch. It wasn't even spiked with anything more potent yet.

The ball was a success as far as John could tell. The higher ups from the IOA and the SGC looked very self-satisfied. John was bored and felt slightly uncomfortable in his dress uniform.

When Rodney had seen it, he'd given John a once-over and flushed. John hated when he did things like that. It was like Rodney was the biggest cocktease in the world, except John was pretty sure that Rodney had no idea what he was doing. John also suspected that Rodney had never put whatever interest he'd had in guys into action. He was a gay-virginal unconscious cocktease with the sole purpose of tormenting John—and to save the world, but that went without saying.

Rodney had danced with Carter and had done a passable job at it. As far as John had seen, there'd been no laughing in Rodney's face, so he considered it a success.

John himself had danced with Carter too. And with Teyla for that matter, who seemed to have learned ballroom dancing since the announcement of the ball and who would have been a much better teacher for Rodney.

Rodney had _not_ danced with Keller. In fact the two of them hadn't gotten within thirty feet of each other all evening. They didn't throw any death glares at each other either, so John figured they'd done the thing where you said you'd be friends and then ignored each other until the awkwardness went away.

John could only muster mild happiness that Rodney had averted that fate. He only wanted to get back to Pegasus, away from the watchful eye of the SGC and the IOA, and the boredom, and many other annoying things that John couldn't recall at the moment.

Maybe he shouldn't have drunk as much from the punch.

John was contemplating how early he could afford to leave without breaking some sort of protocol when he saw Rodney approaching him. Rodney was wearing a straightforward black suit. He looked good. And a bit fidgety.

"Didn't do any permanent damage to Carter's or anyone else's feet?" John asked.

"What? No, of course not. I had a good teacher," Rodney said, flushing.

John took another gulp from his glass. Goddamn cocktease.

They stood like this, Rodney making nervous motions with his hands, until it got really awkward, but John had nothing to say so he didn't.

"Wannadancewithme?" Rodney eventually asked.

John gave him a look. "Sorry?"

"Uhm, I was wondering if you wanted to dance with me?" Rodney said, looking almost sick in anticipation and possibly fear.

John blinked. Rodney had just asked him to dance in front of their bosses and their bosses' bosses. John wasn't sure what he was thinking but it wasn't cockteasing. "If we dance together, people will get ideas," he said.

"So?" Rodney said, lifting his chin, though the bravado didn't quite make it onto his face.

So apparently Rodney had had some sort of revelation and instead of unconsciously cockteasing John he wanted... John felt his chest tighten in a weird mix of anger, elation, and confusion. "Come with me," he told Rodney roughly.

When Rodney didn't comply immediately, frowning instead, John grabbed him by his arm and dragged him along out of the jumper bay that served as the ballroom and into the closest unoccupied room.

"Look," Rodney said nervously, "if you didn't want to dance, you could have just told—"

He was cut off by John's mouth on his. Rodney squirmed and John started counting to three at which point Rodney would either return the kiss or John would never speak to him again. Or at least yell at him to stop with the goddamn cockteasing and jealousy and everything else that made John think that deep down Rodney wanted this as much as he did.

John was at two and three-quarters when Rodney's mouth opened up and he put his arms around John, holding on for dear life.

John was so fucking relieved his legs nearly gave way. The kiss slowed down but didn't become any less intense. God, he'd waited so long for this moment, he wanted to hit Rodney. Or maybe himself.

They eventually pulled apart. Rodney looked slightly dazed, which made John more than a little smug.

"Now we can dance," John said.

"Really?" Rodney asked. "I'd sort of hoped that this would be the end of dancing around each other."

John blinked. "So when did you come up with that line?"

Rodney pouted. "It was an obvious thing to come up with after our lessons. You've done a lot worse."

"I've apologized for better puns. That was just weak, McKay," John teased casually, walking towards the door.

"Oh please, you make _horrible_ puns," Rodney said, following him out. "And the innuendo you see in completely innocent things. Like that meeting about the underground well."

"You mean the one with the force of the thruster and the penetration depth?" John asked.

Rodney flushed. "That's what they're called!" he said, waving his hands.

It was music to John's ears. He really hoped they'd continue this dance for a long time.

Puns and all.


End file.
